They are not NICE guys they are known polluters, and bullies.Here is just one of many articles about Casella and there bullying tactics.Rutland Herald: Casella fighting order to end landfill leakage

: December 3, 2000

: By JOHN DILLON

: Staff Writer

: The orange-tinted, foul-smelling water seeps out of: the ground and into : the: Wells River in eastern Vermont. The source of the: pollution is no : secret:: An old landfill nearby has for years fouled the ground: water, and now : the: tainted plume is bubbling up in surface springs.

: But state officials and the landfill's owner can't: agree on how to fix : the: problem. The Agency of Natural Resources wants: Vermont's largest trash: company to install a new cap over the dump to prevent: water from : leaching: through and causing more contamination. Casella Waste: Management Inc.,: which bought the Wells River landfill 12 years ago,: says the cap is too: expensive. The company prefers to let the pollution: gradually diminish : over: time.

: Casella, which is based in Rutland, recently appealed: a state order: directing the company to cap the landfill to stem the: pollution.

: "Our view is we ought to continue to monitor as we: have over the last : 10: years," said John Ponsetto, the company's lawyer. "The: benefits : associated: with this cap don't warrant the expense."

: The delays frustrate Alice Allen, a dairy farmer whose: nearby property : is: contaminated by the old landfill. Allen over a year: ago first noticed : the: orange leachate bubbling up on her land. She said she: wants the state : to: enforce a 1994 court order that requires the company: to stop the : landfill: from polluting the environment.

: "This has just been a struggle for us. It's documented: the : contamination is: on our land and is coming out of the ground water. It: was documented in : the: court case. But the case was never resolved. The: contamination is not: resolved. If anything it's gotten worse," Allen said.: "... It's not an: issue of proving it anymore. The state knows it's: happening. Casella : knows: it's happening."

: Water leaching through layers of trash over time can: form a toxic brew : that: seeps into groundwater and enters streams. This: widespread pollution is : why: the Legislature over a decade ago decided to close: many old, unlined: landfills. Owners of the old dumps were often required: to test ground : water: for signs of contamination.

: Casella bought the Newbury Waste Management landfill: in Wells River in : 1988: and operated it for the next five years. But after the: company failed : to: cap the landfill in 1993 according to the state's: timetable, the Agency : of: Natural Resources took the company to court. A 1994: settlement required : the: company to pay a $68,500 fine and "to take all actions: necessary" to : stem: the pollution if tests showed the landfill continued: to contaminate the: water.

: Casella has offered to buy Allen's property and: adjacent land that is : also: affected by the closed dump. The landowners refused to: sell. Casella : then: proposed developing a new landfill on the site and: transferring the : waste: from the old dump into the new lined landfill cell.: The Agency of : Natural: Resources did not support that idea because of the: time and expense: involved. And Allen and her neighbor remain adamantly: opposed to a new: landfill.

: "Over my dead body will there be another landfill: there," she said.

: While the landfill has not contaminated her drinking: water, Allen said : the: pollution has complicated plans to conserve her dairy: farm through a : land: trust. The Upper Valley Land Trust is reluctant to: secure a : conservation: easement on the land because of potential liability: issues, she said.

: "This has taken its toll on me, personally as well as: on my business," : she: said. "I live here. I can't go away ... I just foresee: that Casella : would: drag this on forever and forever."

: Ponsetto, Casella's lawyer, said the pollution will: eventually diminish : as: the landfill ages. He noted that the state has changed: its mind from a : year: ago, when officials did not support a synthetic cap or: other remedial: action. Instead, Environmental Conservation: Commissioner Canute : Dalmasse: agreed with Casella that the contamination will ease: over time.

: Dalmasse told Allen in an October 1999 letter that the: state would not: force Casella to take further action to halt the: pollution. "Overall, : we: are seeing contaminant levels lessening, and this is a: direction that: should continue as the closed landfill ages," Dalmasse: wrote. "Given : the: modest numbers and types of contaminants, and the: relatively low and: generally decreasing concentrations of those: contaminants, I do not : believe: that remedial action to the landfill is warranted at: this time."

: But in October, Andrea Cohen, the head of the state's: solid waste : division,: told the landfill owner that it had to submit a plan: to stop the : chemicals: from leaking from the landfill. Cohen noted in her: letter that Dalmasse: agreed with her decision.

: Ponsetto now wants the state to return to its first: ruling, rather than: force the company to install a $1 million synthetic: cap. "We think the: right way (to deal with the issue) is essentially what: the commissioner: said a year ago," Ponsetto said.

: But Allen said the state needs to force the company to: clean up its: lingering pollution.

: "I'm just a dairy farmer. How much pressure can I put: on Casella?" she: said. "Why should my farm be a receptacle for: leachate? Why should the: Wells River?"

: The state ordered the company to submit by Nov. 15 a: plan to cap the: landfill by Oct. 15, 2001. Casella missed the deadline: and instead: challenged that order. State officials are now: deciding how to proceed,: said Andrew Raubvogel, general counsel for the Agency: of Natural : Resources.

: : "The solid waste division (of the Agency of Natural: Resources) is : trying to: move forward in a way they think is appropriate," he: said.

: "If the data says there's an impact on the ground: water or surface : water we: can require them to do more studies, more monitoring: and more : remediation,": Raubvogel said. "We've done that, and that's what they: (Casella) have : asked: for reconsideration on."

Announcements

When Life Gives You Lemons
We all have had hardships and made poor decisions. The important thing is how we respond and grow. Read the story of a Fool who started from nothing, and looks to gain everything.

Work for Fools?
Winner of the Washingtonian great places to work, and Glassdoor #1 Company to Work For 2015! Have access to all of TMF's online and email products for FREE, and be paid for your contributions to TMF! Click the link and start your Fool career.